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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25446748">Poisoned Parties and Rotten Royals</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/gh0st1nn1t/pseuds/gh0st1nn1t'>gh0st1nn1t</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides Murder Mystery [SEQUEL OUT] [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Blood and Gore, Dark, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Gen, Gore, Murder, Murder Mystery, No Romance, Royalty AU, Tags Are Hard, Unsympathetic Side(s), angsty, unsympathetic side</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:28:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25446748</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/gh0st1nn1t/pseuds/gh0st1nn1t</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>During a ball hosted by King Thomas of Solis, a murder takes place. All attendants manage to escape.</p><p>Except eight of them. </p><p>Stuck in a large castle with no one but each other and a dead body, they have to navigate their way through murders, tragedy and sadistic games and find out which one of them was the murderer.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>No Romantic Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides Murder Mystery [SEQUEL OUT] [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1910287</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>161</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. I</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This fic is incredibly dark whoops</p><p>All content warnings for this chapter will be beneath this, in NO particular order<br/>[Blood, Death (unknown reason, so far), Murder, Vague description of corpse]</p><p>If you are sensitive to gore, angst or anything alike, please, for your sake, do not read. And if you are also sensitive to a certain unsympathetic side, do not read. I will not say who the unsympathetic side(s?) are, because i dont want to spoil the ending, but if theres any that you cant read, i suggest not reading this fic.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The night had begun peacefully, as most other royal events in Kingdom Solis do. The King, Thomas Sanders, had made some grand speech, (and slipped in a few puns here and there) before retreating into the crowd to chat with the grateful attendees. There were many Kingdoms who had agreed to attend, as Kingdom Solis was known for how calm it was. There had never been any wars, nor any arguments with any other Kingdoms. </p><p><b>This story has no care for </b> <b> <em>those</em> </b> <b> attendees though, for we will be focusing on eight specific guests</b></p><p><b>The first of our eight to show up was Patton Puʻuwai of Kingdom Moena, who beamed as he entered the glimmering castle.</b> Thomas' right hand man, Virgil Imní had greeted him at the door with a familiar wave, as the two had met during many other royal events. Then again, King Thomas had a tendency to host a <em> lot </em> of royal events.</p><p>As Patton's caramel eyes fell on Virgil, he waved a sun-kissed hand. His appearance never seemed to change drastically, always having tanned skin, intensely curly hair, faint freckles and incredibly oversized glasses. His clothing usually consisted of pastel colours, some flowers either tucked behind his ear, weaved into a crown at his head or in a necklace, along with heart-like symbols dotted around. He often brought an extra flower to give to Virgil, as there were many in Hawaii, where the Kingdom of Moena resided.</p><p>Since it was a masquerade ball that the King was hosting, he had a baby blue mask on, with hearts cut out for eyes, flowers painted onto it and a string of flowers coming from the bottom edges on each side. The mask had gotten in the way of the glasses, so he'd replaced the large spectacles for contact lenses, which caused his eye to twitch a few times. He wore a large pastel ball gown, with long, sheer pink sleeves, blue fluffy fabric for the shirt, and a pink and blue puffy skirt with hearts painted around the hem. Silky white gloves went up to his elbows.</p><p>
  <b>Virgil just happened to be the second of the eight guests.</b>
</p><p>He stood by the large archway, leaning against the soft white brick walls, his dark outfit contrasting the pale exterior of the castle. He shot a grin towards Patton as he approached him. Virgil looked almost identical to the last time they had met. Pale skin dotted with acne scars, almost microscopic freckles, long dark eyelashes, pitch-black hair swooped to cover half his face with shaved sides and piercings covering his ears. </p><p>A spider-web patterned mask covered his face, matching the patterned tights. He wore a sheer baggy shirt over a vintage black lightning-patterned shirt, a half-plain-black, half-purple-plaid skirt, knee-high gothic boots covered with spikes. Silver chains and chokers covered most of his neck. A large array of purple cloud tattoos covered his left forearm and his right upper-arm all the way up to his collarbone, peeking out from his collar. </p><p>The Kingdom of Moena was close allies with Kingdom Solis, so, as Virgil was basically King Thomas' right hand man, and Patton was the heir to the throne of Moena, they met often.</p><p>
  <b>Roman and Remus were the next of our main guests to enter. </b>
</p><p>The two had been born as twins, yet their parents had separated and owned separate Kingdoms, so they were almost famous for their rivalry. Then again, the rivalry wasn't real at all, and, <em> honestly </em>, they were actually fairly close, yet it drew attention to their Kingdoms, and that was what their parents wanted, so they just went along with it.</p><p>Roman Romántico was the heir to the throne of Kingdom Imaginación, right beside Kingdom Armas, which Remus practically ran. Everyone had been under the impression the two hated each other and were at the verge of starting a war, but <em> then again </em> , they didn't know about their late night hang-outs where they ate <em> too much </em> sugar and sang along to musicals.</p><p>Both of their Kingdoms were located in Spain, and were right next to each other, which meant they often snuck away to hang out. The sun had given them both a tan, along with incredibly sun-damaged hair. </p><p>Roman entered first, his blood-red cape fluttering in the wind behind him. His outfit was almost pure white, consisting of a long-sleeve white shirt, embedded with gold around the sleeves along with a golden collar that reached his chin, a half-skirt thing that was completely open in the front and more of just a trail behind him. The only non-white items were his wine-coloured mask, his vibrant red mini-skirt and his golden heels with red painted underneath.</p><p>Remus, however, made sure to stay a plausible distance away from his brother, as they were 'enemies'. He had a lime-green, high vampire-like collar that was open in the front with a matching green mask, decorated with red splashes. His shirt had the shoulders cut out and cinched around his wrists, the grape-coloured sleeves almost fully see-through. It cut off just above his belly-button, revealing his fishnet tights he wore underneath. His black dress-trousers were slightly hidden by the long green skirt-trail-thing, matching Roman's.</p><p>They often attended events together, and pretended to argue in whispers, when, in reality, they were simply discussing very normal things in an angry, hushed manner to not raise suspicion from those who were under the impression that they were rivals.</p><p><b>Just as they entered, they were approached by our fifth main guest; </b>Janus Tromperie of the Mensonges Kingdom, one of the only people who knew they were actually friends.</p><p>He sauntered over, a bowler hat sat on his head, snake-patterned lace attached to the rim, draping over his face. His mask only covered the left side of his face, hiding his burn-scars, a scaled pattern painted onto it. His skirt dragged onto the floor behind him, a slit in the fabric revealing his knee-high, yellow-laced boots. His collar was a pitch black, peeking out from underneath his vibrant yellow blouse. A grey cape was hooked around his shoulders, fluttering with the slightest movements. Black fingerless gloves covered his hands, while revealing the tips of his fingers, along with pointy yellow nails.</p><p>He was always being accused of something or other. Once he was simply having fun with Virgil Imní and Remus during one of Thomas' dinner parties and someone had told Thomas that he had poisoned Virgil's food. Of course, it had been a lie, and Thomas promptly kicked out the person who began the rumour. Once he had someone genuinely tell most of his Kingdom that he had attacked them. The time she claimed he attacked her, he was literally half-way across the globe, visiting Logan Gênio in Kingdom Cérebro...which was literally in Brazil, despite the supposed attack taking place in his Kingdom in France.</p><p>Speaking of Logan Gênio, he had entered minutes after Remus and Roman. <b>And, of course, he was our sixth character.</b></p><p>He had nodded towards Prince Pu'uwai across the ballroom as he stepped inside, tugging the sleeves of his formal black coat tighter for warmth. He had a fascination with butterflies, which explained why he wore a butterfly-themed mask, had a plastic butterfly perched in his hair, and two butterfly pins on the breast-pocket of his deep blue dress-shirt. There was also a butterfly sewn onto the bottom of his white tie. His boots were blue, and his pin-stripe trousers were black and blue. His mask had blue feathers glued onto one side, and sequins on the other. Since he opted for wearing his glasses, he simply held his mask on a stick. </p><p><b>Right beside him was our seventh guest.</b> The two had recognised each other at the gates and agreed to enter together, to take away some of the nervousness of being in a room full of strangers. <b> Our seventh guest was Remy Schlaf of Kingdom Müde, located near the top of Russia. </b></p><p>A coffee cup was gripped tightly in his pale hand. Of course, he had replaced a masquerade mask with some opaque sunglasses. His almond-coloured hair was parted in the middle, falling into his face from the lack of combing. He wore a leather jacket over a white sequin dress, cutting off just above his knees. He wore a dangly necklace with 'sleep' engraved into it, a joke gift from Virgil after he had found Remy asleep across the Kingdom at least 5 times.</p><p>He wore black heels with white painted onto the bottom, matching his white dress with occasional black sequins dotted around it. </p><p>At his side was Emile Aidez of Dessin Animé Kingdom, his pale brown cardigan billowing behind him. <b>Of course, he was our eighth guest.</b></p><p>His strawberry blonde curls fell into his face, masking part of his large circular golden glasses. The pure white mask was attached to a stick, which he held in his hand, blue feathers going up on one side and down on the other. The eye holes were cut into hearts, with pink jewels around them, matching the dangly pink gem necklace and his converse. He wore a white blouse that hung loosely off of his frame, contrasting his tanned skin. </p><p>A long blue skirt blew behind him, cutting off just below his ankles. His shirt was tucked into the pink waistline of the skirt, matching the pink tie around his neck. His face was heart-shaped and soft, smile-lines around his eyes and cheeks. His eyes were a pure blue and full of excitement.</p><p>
  <b>Well, there you have it, all eight guests introduced, now onto the-</b>
</p><p>
  <em> A piercing scream echoed through the castle. </em>
</p><p>Hundreds of guests began scurrying up the stairs to investigate the scream, as a few other hundred ran out of the doors in a blind panic. </p><p>Roman and Emile were at the very front of the group of attendees who ascended the stairs. The scream had come from the third floor, so quite a few guests slowed down due to exhaustion. Logan, however, was the first to reach the top, eyes scanning the floor in a hurry. </p><p>"In there!" One of the guests from the back had yelled, gesturing towards the room with the door creaked open. Remus shared a glance with Logan before they both ran towards it, swinging the door open.</p><p>Right in front of them was King Thomas, slumped on the floor. </p><p>Had they not heard a terrified scream from that very room, they would have thought everything had been fine and he had just passed out from exhaustion.</p><p>Then they noticed the steady dripping noise, and it turned out to be blood, rolling across the table and <em> tap tap tapping </em>on the wooden floor. From where they stood, it seemed to come from the Kings mouth. His glass had been knocked over, and the contents spilled out, the red wine eerily matching the scarlet blood that pooled around him. His neck was covered in scratches, clearly done by the King himself in a frantic attempt to get whatever had happened to stop. His golden suit was slowly becoming red as he was soaked in his own blood.</p><p>There was stunned silence for a moment.</p><p>Then everyone began screaming and nearly everyone ran out of the castle. But not five of them, who stayed in the doorway, still staring and trying to find the source of the scream. They found the reason for it, but not the source.</p><p>To be fair, they were glad they did, otherwise they wouldn't have noticed the figure in the corner by the door, curled into a ball and trembling violently, muttering beneath his breath. </p><p>"Is that-" Remus began, before being interrupted.</p><p>"Virgil," Emile confirmed, approaching him slowly, and trying not to look at the body of the King to keep down the rising sickening feeling. He knelt down in front of him, speaking cautiously, "Virgil?"</p><p>The figure looked up, meeting Emile's eyes. They were correct, it had been Virgil. Tears streamed down his cheeks and wrecked his eyeliner as he shook violently, hunched over. "The-The King- Thomas- He" He choked out, voice thick with sobs that wracked his body.</p><p>Emile shot a glance back at the significantly smaller group as he wrapped an arm around Virgil's shoulder, forcing him to stand. </p><p>
  <b>Well, wasn't this ball just an absolute blast so far?</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. ii</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A few accusations are thrown around before they decide to calmly explain their alibis.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a filler before the real action lol</p><p>WARNINGS [INCLUDE SPOILERS]<br/>-Thomas' death is revealed to be poisoning</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>All six of them sprinted down the stairs, desperate to escape whatever the hell was happening.</p><p>Once they got to the bottom, their eyes fell onto the doors.</p><p>They were shut and covered in padlocks, and an eerie message was painted onto it in what looked like blood, but was probably spray paint judging by the can on the floor.</p><p>
  <b> <em>‘HaVe FUn FiGURIng oUT mY GamEs. yOURe trAPPEd uNTil YOu FiguRe Out wHo I aM. thE DoORS aRE shUT aND THe WINDowS arE bOLtED. JuST kNOW im aMONg You. HaVE fuN :D’</em> </b>
</p><p>They stood there in shock, wondering what sort of sick game was taking place. Virgil felt like he was going to be sick as he trembled violently, eyes glued onto the paint can.</p><p>A pair of footsteps approached them, and all of them went into fight or flight, ready to either attack the killer or sprint away.</p><p>They got closer</p><p>And closer</p><p>And closer</p><p>And- </p><p>And it was just Patton, who froze in the doorway, face twisted in confusion, “Why are you all staring at me? What happened?” Then his eyes fell onto Virgil, who was trembling, then onto Roman, whos hand was inching towards the pepper spray he kept, then to Remus who had his fists clenched, then to Logan, who looked ready to punch someone, and then onto Emile, who looked petrified. “Are you all okay?”</p><p>“The King’s dead,” Logan stated, face softening when he realised Patton was genuinely confused, and not the killer.</p><p>His eyes filled with tears as he slapped a bare hand over his mouth. He looked like he was about to either break into tears or scream.“The King’s <em> what </em>?” </p><p>They whirled around, seeing Janus frozen in the doorway to the smaller ballroom, gaping in shock. </p><p>“King Thomas is dead,” Remus repeated for him, shoulders slumped in defeat. Sure, he loved reading thriller books and he was strangely obsessed with gore, but the last thing he wanted was to be trapped in one of his horror movies. But there they were, playing some sickos game in a large empty castle.</p><p>Janus looked like he was going to be sick as his hands began trembling. “How?”</p><p>“Poison,” Logan deadpanned, hands folded behind his back, just as Roman spoke up, eyes glued to the floor, “We don’t know.”</p><p>Roman whirled around, facing Logan with narrowed eyes, suspicion painted across his face. “Why did you say he was poisoned?” He stepped back slightly, keeping his distance from Logan, and everyone followed suit.</p><p>Logan simply scoffed, obviously unharmed by the accusation, “It was obvious. Spilled drink, blood coming from the mouth, scratched neck, clear signs of struggle, clear signs of poisoning,” he explained.</p><p>Roman was obviously not convinced. “And how did you work that one out?”</p><p>“I took multiple forensics courses in college. Honestly, Roman, it wasn’t hard to work out at all,” Logan was unaffected by the accusation, knowing that it didn't matter if they believed him guilty, because he knew he was innocent.</p><p>“How the hell are you so calm about this?” Roman practically screamed, “The King’s been murdered and some villain is playing this sick game with us but you’re barely even bothered!”</p><p>“He has a point, Logan,” Emile admitted, avoiding his eyes. “How are you so calm?”</p><p>“What part of forensics classes do you not understand? You can’t take those classes if you have a weak stomach, you have to be desensitised to gore and tense situations. It’s called self control,” Logan rolled his eyes. “And why has everyone jumped to accusing me when these two weren’t even there when we found the body? No ones checking for alibis anymore?” He gestured towards Patton and Janus with a wave of his hand.</p><p>“He has a point,” Virgil finally spoke up, voice shaking, “What were you two doing down here?”</p><p>Janus held up the glass of water, “I went into the kitchen to grab some water because I felt unwell,” he explained simply, clearly unbothered by being accused.</p><p>Patton looked ready to cry at the thought of having the blame pointed at him, “I went to the bathroom because my contact lenses got knocked out of place.”</p><p>There was silence.</p><p>“So we had to give alibis but no one else did?” Janus asked.</p><p>“Good point,” Logan added on, “Starting now, we’re all suspects. We just need to calm down and-”</p><p>“Calm down?” Virgil laughed bitterly, “We’re all trapped here with some sick bastard who killed the fucking King and now we’re all fucked!” He threw his hands up in exasperation. </p><p>“Virgil, deep breaths,” Emile encouraged quietly, gesturing for a worried-looking Logan to continue.</p><p>“Starting now we’re all suspects, so we have to just sit down,” He glanced at Virgil, who seemed glad for the rewording, “And explain our alibis.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. iii</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They sit down and talk about their alibis, in hopes of revealing the killer, yet they reveal something much more sinister...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>aaa im so sorry i took a break without telling yall, i wanted to spend some time with my family around my birthday and forgot that i promised yall another chapter!!! im so sorry!</p><p> </p><p>Mentions of Poison again<br/>Thats all the warnings lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Okay,” Logan nodded towards the rest of the group, as they stood around the hall, worry etched into his face. “We’ll go over albis first, then if there’s any inaccuracies, we can go over those after, but if you <em> can </em>back up an alibi, please say immediately. I’ve opted to go first.”</p><p>He shuffled slightly, “I had gone into the library to browse the books as the King had given me a spare key during the last royal event after I had mentioned there not being many libraries in my kingdom,” he reached into his pocket, pulling out a silver chipped key with ‘library’ etched into the handle.</p><p>“How do we know you didn’t just kill him and then take the key?” Roman interrupted, arms crossed and face twisted in suspicion.</p><p>“I know Thomas gave him a key,” Virgil added on, “He told me in case I saw him in the library and didn’t know. Plus, Thomas keeps his keys hidden in a false drawer that no one but the staff knows about.”</p><p>Logan nodded politely towards Virgil. “I had been looking at a philosophy book when I heard the scream. That’s when I joined the group,” he turned to Janus, who was standing beside him, gesturing for Janus to begin speaking.</p><p>“I went into the kitchen to get a glass of water because I felt unwell. I have proof,” He held up a small rusted copper key with a label hanging off of it, reading ‘<em> antonio hayloft : kitchen key </em>’. “See?”</p><p>“Where’s your water now then?” Remy butted in, sunglasses removed and tucked into his pocket. </p><p>“Smashed on the kitchen floor. I dropped it and hid when I heard the scream,” Janus said as if it was obvious.</p><p>“So you hid like a coward?” Roman asked, eyebrows raised.</p><p>“No, I hid because I value my life and I have basic self preservation,” Janus shot back, feeling satisfied once Roman fell silent.</p><p>“I’ll go check if there’s a shattered glass on the floor,” Patton offered.</p><p>“No, it’s too dangerous to split up,” Virgil warned.</p><p>“It’s fine, Kiddo, it’s just at the end of the hall!” Patton gave him a reassuring smile, ignoring how uncomfortable Virgil looked with the nickname.</p><p>There was a tense silence only filled by nervous scratching, or tapping of their feet. Moments later, Patton returned, nodding. “His alibi checks out. There’s a broken cup by the sink.”</p><p>“Okay, so that’s Janus ruled out,” Logan turned to Virgil, who was beside Janus, “What’s your alibi?”</p><p>“We found him in the room with the body, what alibi could clear that up?” Remy snapped, sunglasses folded on the collar of his shirt, tapping his fingers idly against his empty coffee cup.</p><p>“I am unsure, that’s why I asked,” Logan said, gesturing for Virgil to continue.</p><p>“I- I went upstairs, because Thomas had asked me to get him a different jacket because he-he spilled juice on him, so I grabbed one, and that’s when I saw Thomas go into the room. I knocked and told him-told him I had the jacket, and I waited, but he-he didn’t respond so I went in and- an- and-,” Virgil paused, taking a deep breath, “And that’s when I saw him. D-De-Dea-De-Dead.”</p><p>Logan was silent, seemingly analysing Virgil before nodding, “It checks out. Virgil, hold out your hand,” he instructed, seeing the shaky palm being extended, “Lines from a coat hanger. That’s him ruled out,” he nodded for Emile to continue, as he was closest to Virgil.</p><p>“I got in right before the scream, that’s it, that’s my alibi. Me and Remy had just got in, and went to get a drink when we heard it,” Emile nervously picked at his hands.</p><p>“Aren’t there cameras in this place? You could look at the security footage and see we weren’t even here for more than three minutes before the scream,” Remy added.</p><p>“I have the key to the office with the cameras if you need it,” Virgil offered it out to Logan, who was analysing Emile and Remy.</p><p>“I don’t think we’ll need to look at the cameras. Judging by their expressions at learning there was cameras, I don’t believe they are lying,” Logan nodded gratefully towards Virgil, “Thank you for the offer. Your turn,” He gestured towards Roman.</p><p>“Me and Remus were stood by the doors talking, we weren’t even inside,” Roman gestured loosely to his brother, who was surprisingly quiet despite this being something he used to tell Roman he fantasized about. </p><p>“We saw them outside when we were coming in, if that helps,” Emile offered.</p><p>Logan narrowed his eyes, seemingly scanning it over in his head before nodding, “It does. You’re both in the clear, which raises a problem.”</p><p>“What problem?” Patton piped up, blue nailpolish glinting in the light, contrasting the pink-ish skin tone on his hands.</p><p>“If I’ve worked it out right, everyone here is in the clear. Yet the ominous message left for us said that the murderer was among us, in the same group as us. So, who’s lying?” </p><p>There was a beat of silence before Remus finally spoke. His eyes were looking through the hallway, past the others. “Uh, guys?”</p><p>Everyone turned to him, and then to the space he was pointing at.</p><p>At the very end of the hallway in the shadows was another message scrawled in marker above a table with a single cup on it, the liquid a sickening green to match the colour of the writing.</p><p>The message read: <b> <em>‘So nOW yOUvE gONe OveR YoUrR aLibIIs, I tHINK iTS tIMe WE plAY A GamEE. OnE oFF You MuSST TaKE ThIss POiSoN Or ElsE, EvERY mINuTe YoU sPeNd THinkING aBOut It, OnEE oF yOU WiLl BE pIckEd At RaNDoM, aAND kiLLeD! GoOd LuCK :D’</em> </b></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. iv</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>aaa this is where shit starts going down!! thank you for all ur kind comments and theories, im amazed, honestly!!! i love u all :))</p><p> </p><p>CONTENT WARNINGS :<br/>-poison (again)<br/>-death<br/>-accusing someone of murder(?)<br/>-technically suicide but more sacrifice</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was a sickeningly long period of silence, filled only with their shaky breaths before Logan took charge once again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, who’s going to do it?” He asked, eyes glued to the floor in defeat as he finally realised there was no escaping. Their only chance of survival was to play along and hope the killer let them go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Roman practically screamed at him, “We aren’t sacrificing someone to this- this evil villain! That’s exactly what they want!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And we have to do what they want if we want any chance of surviving,” Janus objected.</span>
  <span>“But- but- but it’s wrong!” Patton chimed in, arms crossed and pouting. “We aren’t letting someone die just so some- some </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad person</span>
  </em>
  <span> can play their games!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Either one person dies, or we all die,” Remy said, inching closer to the poison. “And we don’t have much time to choose. I’ll do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What! No!” Emile yelled, tugging Remy back, away from the glass of poison.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remy held up the small slip of paper attached to the cup, reading : ‘</span>
  <b>
    <em>iTlL Be QuIcKK i PrOMiSe! I’Ve MaDee ThIS mYseLF SO iT’s AlMosT iMmEdIATE’</em>
  </b>
  <span>.  “I’ll do it. We have to choose quickly, right? I’ve already chosen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was around ten seconds of protests before Remy held up a hand. “You’re wasting your time. I’m doing it, that’s final. If this means the killer will stop, I’m willing,” and with that, he downed the glass as if it was just a shot. He shook his head after, sticking his tongue out. “Tastes like shit,” he remarked, before collapsing onto the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone averted their eyes immediately, the sound of stifled sobs filling the room. Remy was slumped against the wall, deathly pale, eyes half-lidded, mouth parted, revealing the blood trickling down his chin, dead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god, oh my god,” Patton muttered, hand on his forehead as he tilted his head away from the body. “This is sick! We have to get out, now!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t,” Virgil said, almost void of emotion as he stared at the floor, blank, “The killer’s made it clear that escaping won’t work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Virgil’s correct. We can’t do anything but hope the culprit will either reveal themselves out of guilt or let us go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys?” Emile spoke shakily, kneeling down and picking up the slip of paper that was glued to the bottom of the inside of the cup, not noticeable unless the cup was empty. He scanned it quickly, reading it aloud.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>‘oH wOW YoUu aCtuaLLY DiD iT!!!! how stupid. you should have just poured it out, oh well :)). youre not as smart as i thought. yOUu HaVE FivE mInNuTeEs tO aCcUSe SoMeoNe, TheN yOU MuSt Go To ThE KitCHEN. I aM iN yOur GrOUp. I knOW, uNExpecTEd RigHT? I HAaVE a kNIfE, iF yOu DonT Do aAS i SAy, i Will kIll yOU. dO aS i SaY, anD mAybE yOU wILL LIVe. pROBaBALY nOT thO :D’</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>“He didn’t have to die,” Logan whispered, feeling almost sick with guilt as he stared down at Remy’s body. “Fuck, we messed up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is just the sort of thing Remus would do,” Roman muttered, not even realising what he was saying until it was too late. His brother was looking at him dejectedly, face twisted in betrayal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh really? I would do this? What about you, huh? You love making situations worse so you can just swoop in and play the saviour!” Remus spat back, not even hesitating, despite the regret etched onto Romans face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys,” Patton whispered, not wanting to witness a fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t play the saviour, I am a saviour! You’re the one who dreams of murdering someone and bragging about it for fame!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys.” Patton repeated, slightly louder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I murdered someone, I’d get away with it, I wouldn’t expose myself to everyone, that would never work. You know my murder dreams consist of quick kills in back alleys and not slow deaths in a castle, prince lame.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys!” Patton yelled. Attention turned to him. “Arguing and pointing fingers will get us nowhere.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh really? I bet you’re just keeping up that innocent act so no one suspects you!” Remus shouted back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me! Logan is the one who reads murder mystery novels all day! This is exactly what he would do!” Patton fumbled out the answer, not wanting to even think himself capable of something so monstrous. In his panic, all he did was blame someone else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now now,, Janus is always being accused of something or other, whos’ to say all of them are false?” Logan reasoned, unintentionally hurting Janus in the process. He had always struggled with accidentally speaking harshly, but this was off the charts for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, Logan, I’m so </span>
  <em>
    <span>glad </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’m your friend. But Remus is right, Roman would commit murder just for five minutes of fame,” Janus snarled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would not! Emile’s the quiet one, and it’s always the quiet ones!” Roman snapped back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Emile’s head shot up the moment he heard his name. He had been zoning out as soon as the fight started, but he was not going to let himself be accused for the murder of the King and his best friend. “Really, Roman? Stereotyping the quiet ones? What about Virgil! He’s been silent the whole time!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not true! I said something earlier! You’re just twisting the truth because you know you’re guilty and don’t like the blame being on you! You wanna use stereotypes? Fine. It’s always the seemingly innocent ones!” Virgil snapped back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh really? Then why have you accused Emile and not Patton? They’re both the ‘innocent’ ones,” Logan jutted in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I know Patton wouldn’t be capable of something like this. Look, he can’t even look at the bo-body! And you think he’s a murderer?!” Virgil stuck an arm out in front of Patton protectively, letting Patton hide behind him, one of his bare hands on Virgil’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never said that, I simply used your logic against you,” Logan said, arms behind his back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, because you know you’re guilty! You’re trying to act like a leader because when there’s trouble!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Virgil has a point, there was no hesitation in accusing your friends the moment the blame even slightly shifted to you,” Janus interjected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, like what you’re doing right now? Emile’s the one who’s best friend just died and he doesn’t seem to care, why are you all accusing me?” Logan snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me? You said it yourself, my best friend just died, and you think I did it? Your leader facade is slipping. You’re only pretending to be a leader because you know no one suspects the leader!” Emile screamed at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not true, everyone suspects the leader,” Roman objected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why has the only accusation against him been that he reads murder mystery books?” There was silence as Virgil crossed his arms in satisfaction. “Exactly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have five minutes, right? We gotta go to the kitchen,” Emile reasoned, a defeated expression painted onto his face as he looked down at Remy. He closed Remy’s eyes for him before standing up, brushing off his dress. “We’re running out of time. Our only hope is playing along, so that’s what we’ll do.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. v</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>this ones vv short, mostly a filler, butttt the drama goes down next chapter again. i wanted to put them into one chapter but i wanted to have some very short chapters and then some very long chapters lol i wanted to experiment with chapter lengths</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They reached the kitchen in dead silence, only to see yet another message scrawled onto a slip of paper, taped to the wall, this time, it was in bright purple ink.</p><p>
  <b> <em>‘I BeTT yOU lEfT SomEOne DeaD ovER ThERE, dIdNt yoU? I knOW YOu ToO WeLl!! :DD. nOW, cONtINue The AcCusAtIoNs!! or i will kill you. TheYRe FuNN to wATcH!! iN fIVe MinUTes, You WiLl geT aNOThER sURPrISE! gOOD lUck!! :D'</em> </b>
</p><p>“I thought we were done with this,” Emile whispered, leaning against the counter, tears welling up in his eyes. “I thought we were going to leave.”</p><p>“We’re clearly not going to be leaving any time soon,” Roman muttered, arms crossed, glaring daggers at Remus</p><p>“No shit,” Remus snapped back, sneering. </p><p>Janus sighed, nudging him with his elbow, "Remus, now is not the time to have your family disputes."</p><p>“We don’t have time to argue, we need to continue accusing people until we find out who it is, otherwise we’re all dead,” Virgil reminded them, trembling slightly. Patton was practically clinging to him, silent sobs wracking his body. </p><p>“Okay, uh, this time, instead of just blindly accusing anyone, why don’t we try and list reasons why it couldn't be them?” Logan asked reasonably, standing beside Emile, sending him reassuring looks every few moments. </p><p>“But how would that work?” Roman asked, voice still snappy.</p><p>“We accuse someone, like before, and instead of listing just reasons why you think its them, also list reasons why it couldn't be them. Understood?” After receiving nods from everyone, he continued.</p><p>“I believe Roman may be the murderer,” he stated, holding up a hand to silence Roman’s protests, “He would commit homicide for fame. He has the stomach to handle murder. But he has no motive, and he was with the group when we found Thomas. Therefore I also think it may be Patton. He has access to the areas of the castle due to his friendship with Virgil, yet i also don't think he would, he has no motive, and he’s vomited twice since we saw the body.”</p><p>Logan nodded to Emile, for him to accuse someone. “I-I don’t really have any major accusations, but I think Remus and Roman might be involved somehow. Virgil too. The writing’s all been in red, green and purple. That might be a hint to them? I’m not really sure. But I think they’re involved, maybe responsible,” he mumbled, wiping his blotchy cheeks with a tissue. </p><p>“Understandable,” Logan nodded to Patton, who was closest to Emile.</p><p>“I don’t- I don’t know-” Patton choked out, shaking as he spoke, “I don’t want to think that any of us could do mur-mu-mur-murd-” he cut himself off, gulping, unable to finish the word. </p><p>“But if you had to pick?”</p><p>“I don’t know,” Patton fidgeted with his hands, eyes scanning the room, “You, maybe?” He admitted sheepishly, still half-hiding behind Virgil. “I-I mean, it’s just a random guess.”</p><p>Logan simply nodded, turning to Virgil. </p><p>“I think it’s Roman and Remus. I think that fight was just acting, and its common knowledge that they are both actors, and they definately have the stomach for murder, but I also don’t think Roman would murder for fame, or that Remus would go to these lengths to kill someone,” Virgil explained, eyes glued to the floor.</p><p>“Well, I think it’s Virgil,” Remus stated, sulking, “He had motive, he wanted to take the throne. He knows the castle by heart, and he could easily hide puzzles to be revealed at certain times. But I don’t think he could handle murdering someone,” he admitted reluctantly.</p><p>“I think it’s Janus. He was in the kitchen, right? Kitchens have knives and poisonous stuff. The killer claimed to have a knife. He could have gotten it from the kitchen when he claimed to have his water, and dropped a spare cup to create a diversion. He could have gotten the poison that was used for the first two murders from the kitchen. He's always been accused of everything, and like Logan said, who's to say they're all false? I know we're meant to say why we think it couldn't be them, but I can't think of any reasons."</p><p>Janus crossed his arms. "I think it's Emile. His best friend was basically forced into suicide and he's shed like two tears. It looks like crocodile tears to me. But I don't think he could kill and not feel guilty."</p><p>“Well, that’s everyone, so-”</p><p>The lights cut off, the entire room was plunged into darkness. All you could hear was Pattons shaky breaths, the squeaking of shoes as someone tapped their foot, the quiet questions by Emile to see if everyone was okay. </p><p>There was shuffling, the sound of a weapon being unsheathed, and a loud thud.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. vi</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>tw<br/>- more death :)<br/>- stabbing<br/>- injuries<br/>- blood</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“What the fuck just happened?” Virgil asked loudly, voice shaking as he clutched Patton’s arm tighter. Loud noises were never his favourite, but in the middle of a murder situation, it made it almost twenty times worse. “What the fuck was that? Is everyone okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a shriek as Emile spoke, “Something touched my leg!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lights began flickering back on, and suddenly the room was illuminated by the industrial lights. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan was crumpled on the floor, blood pooled around his chest and his head. A knife stuck out of his heart, vibrant red blood soaking his shirt and jacket. It pooled beneath him, not only from the stab wound, but from a large wound on the back of his head, caused by hitting the tiles violently. His eyes were lifeless, staring up at the ceiling with a vacant expression. His hand was outstretched towards Emile’s leg.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy fuck!” Remus yelled, backing up against the wall, away from the literal </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead body.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is what they meant by surprise,” Emile spoke shakily, before turning around and vomiting in the sink. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is too much, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Virgil kept his arm around Patton, who was full-on sobbing into Virgil’s shirt, stepping backwards. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who did it?” Roman asked, eyes wary as they darted from person to person.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He accused you right before he died,” Janus stated simply, taking a large step away from Roman. “You did it, didn’t you?” He asked, sounding like he was about to vomit, voice trembling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! He accused Patton too!” Roman pointed towards the man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had my hand on Patton’s arm the whole time and he had his face pressed into my shoulder. He didn’t move,” Virgil defended him, as Patton hadn’t done as much as take a single step away when the murder happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>you?” Remus asked, sounding betrayed as he backed away from his brother, voice thick with tears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! No! I didn’t do it! I swear! You gotta believe me!” Roman begged, hands held in the air, “Seriously! I didn’t do it! What- What about Emile? He was right beside Logan!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Emile vomited in the sink and is literally crying on the floor. He clearly didn’t do it,” Janus scoffed, extending a hand towards Emile to help him up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, fair point, but it was not me!” Roman gestured towards Logan’s body, “I did not do that!” Then he paused, and he walked towards the body, kneeling beside it. He tilted his head away, mouth pressed shut in an attempt not to vomit as he removed a sticky note from the handle of the knife. “There’s this?” He handed it to Remus, who read it aloud.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>‘hAhaHA ahA YouU mEsSeD uP!!! :)) YoU sHOuLDnt HAVE leFT tHee KNifE drAWeR UnNAtENdeD!!WhOOpSiEs! bEttER lUck NeXt TiMe! nOW GoO TO tHE dInINg RooOom, I dONt THiNK yoU wAnT tO be IN ThE rOOM wIth THe BoDYY!’</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was you,” Virgil stared at Roman with a terrified expression. “We figured it out, right? We got it right? We can go home?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it! I promise!” Roman begged. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Just admit it, it was you!” Janus demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t!” He screamed, face flushed. “I didn’t do it! It wasn’t me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He won’t admit to it. We should just go to the dining room,” Patton piped up meekly, rubbing his eyes furiously to keep the tears away at the thought that his close friend was a murderer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we should do that,” Emile finally spoke, shoulders slumped in defeat, leaning against Janus’ side for support.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. vii</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>i love seeing all ur theories!! some of them are genuinely genius, and im lowkey mad i didnt think of them sooner lmao, but i havent seen one thats spot on just yet,,,hint hint :)</p><p>anyway lmao<br/>chapter warnings -<br/>-blood (again)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay, you’re a professional therapist, you can do this,” Emile muttered under his breath as everyone else argued. He straightened up, wiping away his tears, and clapped his hands, “Everyone! Listen up, the killer said we’ve got free roam to look for clues, right? Arguing will get us nowhere. We’ve already lost three people. We are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>losing any more. We’ll start looking for clues in the room with Thomas’ body, then Remy’s, then Logan’s.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No one seemed to object, so they began making their way upstairs. The door was still crooked from earlier, so they slipped in easily. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Wait!” Remus spoke up, being the last one to go in, he pointed to the lock on the door, which had very clearly been picked. “Someone broke in. Thomas must’ve known who the killer was.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First clue, killer knows how to pick locks. Does anyone know how to tell what they picked the lock with?” Emile asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus observed it closer, “Hair pin, looks like it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone turned to Roman, who was the only one with hair pins. His hair was styled with a mountain of bobby pins.  “Are you fucking joking?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No arguing,” Emile reminded them, “Okay, let’s look for a third clue!” He then looked down at Thomas’ body. “Is anyone okay with checking for signs of struggle?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll do it,” Janus offered, kneeling down beside the body and turning it over. He observed the hands, the neck, the hair, and wrists. “Nothing. No bruises, doesn’t even look like the attacker was in the room with him. The broken objects are most likely from his struggle while dying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, so we know that the attacker got in by picking the lock with the hair pin, and planted the poison while the King wasn’t in the room,” Emile paused, scanning the room, “We’ll see what else we can find.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone began looking, finding nothing more. They moved into the kitchen, once again, finding nothing but another note they’d missed the first time.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>‘I cOveREeD mY haNDs WHile HaNDlIng THe KNifE! dONt BotHER lOOkING For FinGERPRinTS’ </em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>They decided to leave the room, and they were almost at the bottom of the hall before Virgil stood still, looking furious at himself for not realising it sooner. “Fingerprints, right? They said they covered their hands using the knife. But! The spray cans used to write the messages must have the killers fingerprints on them. I know how to lift fingerprints.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil grabbed the stuff from the kitchen, trying not to look at the body on the floor as he grabbed the tape, the pencil, the cornstarch, the sandpaper, clear gloves, a tiny bowl, and a sheet of plain paper. He returned to the main hall, seeing everyone sitting on the floor around the cans. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, if i’m remembering correctly, we need to use the sandpaper on the pencil lead, and then mix the powder with cornstarch,” He explained as he did it, mixing it in the bowl. He slipped on the glove, touching the nozzle of the can to bring it towards him. He covered as much of the can with the powder as he could, using a spare blush brush to dust away extras. He covered it with the tape, and peeled it away. All that came off was a few stray bits of cotton. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck. The killer used gloves,” Virgil slumped his shoulders, “No fingerprints left behind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, we’ll look to see if we can find the gloves, then, if we do, we can see who the gloves fit,” Emile reassured him as the group went to explore the area where Remy’s body was laid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It hadn’t taken long, to be honest. They found the gloves discarded only a few meters away from Remy’s body. They were pure white and silky, except for the small bit on the very ends of the gloves, which had a hole. The shape missing perfectly matched the shrivelled up bit of fabric that looked to be soaked in poison. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all took turns seeing who it fit. Roman was the only one who fit perfectly. They were too big for Patton and Janus, too small for Virgil, and Remus had a silk allergy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This has got to be some sick joke,” he crossed his arms, “I don’t know which one of you planned this out, but whoever it is, I fucking hate you,” he announced, leaning against the wall and looking away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Roman, all evidence points to you,” Virgil reminded him. “Literally everything we know is just one big red arrow to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a setup! I would never kill anyone! Especially not so...violently,” he shuddered as his eyes fell on Remy’s body. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None of us want to believe it, but it’s the only thing that makes sense,” Remus muttered, playing with the bracelet Roman had given him as a kid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman was getting desperate, “But it’s not me! I would never kill anyone! I swear! How can I get you to believe me?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think you can, at this point,” Emile answered quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please! I swear I didn’t do it! Use tape to tie my hands together or some shit, that way, if the killing’s continue, you’ll know it wasn’t me!” A burst of inspiration hit Roman like a baseball bat as his eyes fell on the tape which was still lying on the floor. He gestured to it and held his hands behind his back as if he was being arrested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Emile grabbed it, and wrapped it around Roman’s wrists tightly, so he couldn’t pick it off, or shimmy out of it, but lose enough that it didn’t cut off circulation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>If</span>
  </em>
  <span> I was the murderer, do you really think I’d go to these lengths to lie to you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Roman, you’re an actor, you’re a professional liar,” Janus scoffed, still not believing the facade he believed Roman put up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s rich,” Roman snorted, sending a harsh death glare towards Janus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, no arguing. We still need to figure out who it is, remember?”  </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. viii</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>i love all of ur theories!! theyre all so good and i feel stupid for not thinking of them lmao ur all geniuses its not fair lol,,,but no one has correctly guessed yet</p><p>tw //<br/>-death</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>They ended up sitting in a dining room on the second flo in tense silence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do we do now?” Virgil asked, hands in his lap as he itched at the faded tattoo on his forearm. “The killer hasn’t given us any more instructions.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton gulped. “The last time that happened, someone died.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite the fact that it seemed impossible, the tension in the air thickened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, since you all think </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>the killer, why are you nervous about another murder? My hands are tied, </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his hands pressed against the chair behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who’s to say you haven’t teamed up with someone? Your brother, per se?” Janus gestured to Remus, who was sitting next to him, flipping him off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Accusations got us nowhere, remember? But Janus has a point, your hands may be tied, but if you did team up, how are we to know who else we should be fearing?” Patton questioned, swinging his legs back and forth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman slumped his shoulders, annoyed by the fact that no one listened to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we just supposed to sit here waiting for someone else to be killed? Just waiting around with our thumbs up our asses waiting for the killer to kill again?” Remus half-yelled after minutes of silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just then, the lights flickered off, and footsteps were heard, along with a loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘crack</span>
  </em>
  <span>!’, a thud, and a slow dripping noise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once the lights turned back on, Remus’ head was slumped onto the table, blood pouring from the back of it onto the table and onto the floor. In his blood, </span>
  <b>
    <em>‘WHoOpsIEs’ </em>
  </b>
  <span>was written onto the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman screamed, struggling with the makeshift handcuffs to get to his brother, being restrained by Janus, who had leapt from his chair and was on the verge of tears. “No! No! Get off me, you fucking prick! Let me get to my brother! Move your fucking arm!” Roman begged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil’s mouth was parted into a shocked expression, as salty tears ran down his cheeks. He had never been incredibly close with Remus, but once, Virgil had a panic attack and was sat outside during a ball, and Remus had sat with him the entire time, chatting about conspiracies and horror legends he’d heard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton was trembling violently beside him, hands pressed over his mouth tightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Emile looked ready to vomit again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Roman, calm down, we can’t do anything now,” Janus had his right arm grasping Roman’s right shoulder tightly, and the other arm stretched out in front of him, creating a barricade. He bit his lip, drawing blood as tears welled up in his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! Janus, get your fucking hands off of me! Let me see my fucking brother! You fucking dickhead!” Roman screamed and struggled until he finally ran out of energy, collapsing into sobs on the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus sent Emile a death glare. “I think we can take the fucking tape off of his hands now. I don’t understand why you suspected him anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t be sure,” Emile reminded him, eyes glued to the floor, hot tears burning his eyes. “I think we should leave them on. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>an actor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think that was a fucking performance?” Virgil asked, “his brother just got his fucking head smashed in, and you think he’s acting? Who’s to say you aren’t the killer? You do keep throwing around baseless accusations.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not accusing anyone!” Emile cried, “I’m simply saying the evidence points to him, so we can’t fully trust him right now!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is an accusation!” Patton joined in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Emile took a deep breath, before standing up straight, biting his lip. “We need to get out of this room. I don’t think being in a room with a body is doing any of us any good. Especially not Roman.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he spoke, he gestured to the man, who was sobbing in a pile on the floor while Janus attempted to console him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil sighed, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “Yeah, yeah, you’re right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton still looked like he wanted to object, but they made their way towards the door, Janus and Virgil supporting Roman as he stumbled, still attempting to stifle his sobs. Patton handed him a tissue silently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They finally reached the third floor, the only one where there weren't any bodies...yet.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. iv</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>tw //<br/>-death<br/>-MENTION of suicide</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Once they reached the third floor, they stood around in an uneasy period of silence, with some of them breaking under the pressure, Roman staring blankly at the floor as he trembled violently, Patton clinging onto Virgil’s arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The area was faintly illuminated by a chandelier hanging above them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was yet another message scrawled onto the floor in blue, ‘</span>
  <b>
    <em>sO nOW, IF iVE doNE iT rIGht THen TherE ShouDdD beEE FiVE of yOU leFT. bUt IT wILL bE fOUR sOon IF yoU DonT huRRy Up aND fIguRe Out WHo I aM. GoOD lUck PlAYinG ;D. yOU gEt a hInT sOon. iF yOu DonT fIgUrE iT oUT in OnE mINutE, OpEN tHE eNveLOpe I lEft For You! !:)) OpeN iT Any SoONer aDN die.’</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is fucking sick, I’m getting out of here the moment those doors open,” Janus spat, arms crossed firmly, leaning against one of the pillars, sneering at everyone else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, no shit,” Roman shot back. “None of us want to be here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus went silent, lips pressed together as he looked away. They stood in silence for twenty seconds, before Patton finally spoke up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are we supposed to figure out who the killer is? We’ve found all the clues, no one’s going to confess, we’re just...stuck!” Patton spoke quietly, shaking violently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We just have to stall for a minute. That can’t be hard. Surely!” Emile tried to keep his positive outlook on the situation, but despite having a degree in defusing situations, he was just as scared as the others.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He scoffed. “Easy for you to say,” Roman glared at him through his hair, which he had messed up during his struggle to get to his brother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Roman, I know it’s hard, but arguing will just make it worse, we can’t do much else other than hope we get out,” Emile spoke slowly and calmly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t try and turn this into a fucking therapy session. We’re probably all going to die, now is not the time,” Roman spat while Virgil grabbed the envelope.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck it. It’s been a minute, right?” Virgil tore it open, seeing nothing but a tiny slip of paper, reading : </span>
  <b>
    <em>‘ItS nOT jUSt ME :D I oRigINalLY tEaMeD uP wItH sOMeonE eLSE….AndDd MAybe aNOtHER...And mAYbe anOtHER...AND mAybE aNoTHER!!! yOU’LL NEVerr KNow How maNy PEoPle I teAmeD uP wiTh UnleSs You FigURe Out WhO i aM. ThEN iLL tELl YoU eVeRYthInG ;D’</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil looked just about ready to cry. “How do I know all four of you haven’t teamed up?” He backed into the wall, tearing his arm away from Patton’s grip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>know all four of </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>haven’t teamed up?” Janus asked, stepping away from the pillar and standing a good few meters away from the others.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton looked at Virgil with a betrayed expression, tears welling up in his eyes at the mere thought of Virgil not trusting him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then the lights went off once again, and there was the sound of a skirt </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘whoooshing’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>and the sound of something falling, then a sickening thud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The moment the lights turned back on, Virgil’s eyes scanned the three figures around him. “Where’s Emile?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A beat of silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All of them ran to the edge, seeing Emile’s body laid in the middle of the ballroom, soaked in blood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, no, no, no, no,” Patton muttered under his breath, voice thick with tears,right before he collapsed on the floor, eyes shut, head hitting the ground hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They dropped down beside him, Virgil placing an arm around Patton’s back, pulling him into a sitting position only to see blood forming at the back of his head. “Shit! Patton? Patton!” He snapped his fingers in front of Patton’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The others stared in horror. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It hadn’t taken long for Patton to hazily wake up, very obviously concussed, “Wh’t?” He trailed off his slurred word, seeing the other’s all staring at him in concern. He touched the back of his head, where he felt an agonising pain, and his fingers came away sticky with blood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Pat? Do you have a headache? Can you hear ringing?” Virgil sprang into protective mode when he saw the terrified look in Patton’s eyes. He simply nodded. “Shit. He’s concussed,” he explained to the others.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Try and stand,” Virgil stood up, an arm around Patton's waist. Almost immediately, Patton started to fall back down. “Fuck. Just...sit down for a while,” he looked to the others, his petrified expression matching theirs. There were four of them left, one of them was concussed, one of them was a compulsive liar, one of them was paranoid of everything, and the other had to be torn away from his brothers body not five minutes ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stayed where they were, Patton sat down, leaning against the wall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, who was closest to the balcony?” Virgil asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me,” Roman answered truthfully, “But again, not the murderer, and my hands are literally taped behind my back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was me then,” Janus took over, “I was stood around here,” he returned to the spot he was in when Emile was pushed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was here,” Virgil stepped backwards to stand where he had been before. “Patton was there,” he pointed to about a meter away, but still against the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” Roman paused, “Who’s to say he didn’t jump? He was leaning against the edge, he seemed off anyway…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The message said one of us would die, and the lights cut off, it had to be the killer,” Janus said, “Although, I wouldn’t blame him if he jumped. It’d be better than being killed by some sicko.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So that's, what, four of us left? That’s half already,” Virgil’s eyes widened, gulping, “We’re fucking screwed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No sw’rin’,” Patton mumbled from his seat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil glanced back guiltily, “Sorry, Pat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Virgil’s right, though, we’ve been here not that long and the King has been killed, four of us along with him, when are they going to stop?” Janus asked, hands trembling at his sides.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. v</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>murderer(s?) revealed next chapter :D  which is why this ones so short whoops<br/>also im so sorry for killing off nearly everyone uh oh</p><p>tw //<br/>-blood<br/>-death</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Who’s to say they’ll ever stop?” Roman asked quietly. “It’s obvious they have no problem with killing, so who’s to say they won’t just kill us off and move onto another group of people?”</p><p>“You have a point,” Virgil shrugged, shoulders slumping in defeat, “I’m giving up at this point. The killer’s gonna get us anyway, why even bother?” He slid down the wall, knees pulled to his chest tightly.</p><p>“D’n’t th’nk l’ke t’ht,” Patton mumbled, reaching out to place his hand over Virgil’s and completely missing.</p><p>“No, we can’t give up now. We’re the last ones left. That’s gotta mean something, right? We’ve just got to escape,” Janus’s face dropped, “Easier said than done.”</p><p>“Didn’t the killer say we couldn’t leave until they let us go?” Roman asked.</p><p>“Why would they let us go at this point?” Virgil mumbled, “No, think about it. They’ve let us get this far, why would they let us go now? They’re just playing this sick game for fun. We’ll all die by their hands in the end. They won’t let us go. No killer does that,” he sighed dejectedly, curling into himself tighter.</p><p>“Oh,” Janus said as the realisation settled in. “They aren’t just going to let us go. Yep, that’s it, we’re all fucked!” </p><p>Roman opened his mouth to speak, and suddenly the lights flickered off again, and there was sounds of ruffling and fighting, before a loud snap.</p><p>“What’s happening?” Janus yelled.</p><p>“W’y ‘s it d’rk?” Patton mumbled.</p><p>“Is everyone okay?” Virgil shouted.</p><p>The lights slowly flickered back on, showing Roman on the floor, neck snapped, eyes staring blankly at the floor. Virgil screamed, pushing himself backwards, away from the others.</p><p>“Holy shit,” Janus stumbled away from the body.</p><p>Patton’s eyes slowly fell onto the body, and he shrieked, shuffling back against the barrier. “Fr’ck!”</p><p>“Who the fuck did that?” Virgil screamed, looking at the two others.</p><p>“I don’t know, but we can’t stay in here,” Janus stared at the limp body as his stomach twisted into knots. “We can go back to the ballroom.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. xi</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sheesh this is the end already :(</p><p>tw //<br/>-death<br/>-stabbing<br/>-knives<br/>-manipulation</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The moment they reached the doors, Virgil helped Patton sit down, kneeling down beside him and Janus instantly began pleading for his life, begging them to let him go. “You said when we find out who the killers are, the remaining people can leave. I’m the only one remaining, but I know you two are the killers, so you’ll let me go, right?”</p><p>Virgil narrowed his eyes in confusion, “No, Janus, that’s not righ-”</p><p>“I worked it out right? I can leave now? You’re the killers, you said we could go once you were done, it’s just me left. Please, just let me leave! I won’t tell anyone, I swear,” Janus pulled off one of his gloves, making the gesture. </p><p>“No, Janus,” Virgil raised his voice, speaking over Janus’ panicked rambles, “I’m not the killer.”</p><p>“‘M not e’ther,” Patton mumbled, leaning against Virgil’s back.</p><p>“I thought you were,” Virgil admitted, looking up at Janus.</p><p>“No, no, no! It’s just me left! You can stop the games now! I know it’s you!” Janus yelled, backing up against the doors.</p><p>“It’s not!” Virgil insisted, eyes glued to Janus. His entire body had run cold at the thought of being the murderer. The only warmth was on a spot on his back, where Patton was resting his forehead.</p><p>Janus’ face suddenly flipped, and his eyes widened. “Virgil, step away from Patton.”</p><p>“What? No!” Virgil insisted.<br/>
“Virgil, step away now!” </p><p>“What, so you can kill me separately? No thanks,” he spat.</p><p>“Now!” </p><p>“No! I’m staying with hi-” Virgil was cut off by Janus lunging forward, hand clasping Virgil’s forearm tightly, yanking him away from Patton. </p><p>Virgil felt his breath hitch in his throat; His skin seemed to burn beneath Janus’ harsh grip. “I knew it,” he looked up at Janus, “Don’t hurt me, please,” he begged, wrestling his arm out of the other man’s grip.</p><p>Janus pressed his lips together tightly, turning Virgil around to face Patton, “No, Virgil, look!”</p><p>In front of them, Patton was sat up, completely fine, a devilish grin on his face. In his hand was a knife, glinting in the light. The pure cruelty in his eyes made Virgil feel like he was going to be sick.</p><p>“Awe, you just had to ruin my fun, didn’t you?” Patton pouted, groaning and standing up, brushing off his dress. </p><p>Virgil stared in pure horror, eyes glued to the weapon clutched in Patton’s hand. “Pat?” He asked weakly, feeling terror twist his stomach into knots.</p><p>“Pat?” Patton mocked in a whiney voice, making a crying gesture. He laughed loudly, pointing the edge of the blade towards Janus, “Y’know, you should really thank him. If he didn’t grab you in time, you’d have a knife sticking out of your neck right now,” He admitted with a beaming smile.</p><p>“No, no, it can’t be you,” Virgil mumbled in disgust.</p><p>“Oh, but it is,” Patton laughed loudly, “I always did tell you your blind faith would get you in trouble someday.”</p><p>“Who were you working with?” Janus asked, staring Patton in the eyes with determination.</p><p>“Oh, simple, Remus and Emile. They weren’t hard to convince to help. Emile was supposed to be in charge of the lights, and Remus was supplying me with the weapons. But as soon as Remy went, Emile tried to back out. That didn’t do him any good. Remus wasn’t prepared to accuse his own brother, so I wacked him. It was very bloody,” Patton giggled innocently. </p><p>“Wait, wait,” Virgil held a hand out, trying to regain his breath and hold down the vomit, “So, who killed who?”</p><p>“Remus put the poison in the King’s drink. I set up the poison for Remy. Emile got Logan. I got Remus. I got Emile and Roman too. Y’know, if they hadn’t tried to back out of the plan, I’m sure Emile and Remus would be laughing too. Really, you look so surprised! I thought it was obvious, honestly,” Patton shrugged nonchalantly.</p><p>“You literally have a concussion, no one would suspect you!” Janus objected.</p><p>“Oh, this?” Patton touched the back of his head, feeling the dried blood. “Truly amazing performance from me, really. I was so dedicated, I actually made myself bleed! But the concussion was just an act. All that I have is a little headache,” Patton snickered. While the others thought he was still feeling the bump on his head, he grabbed a knife out of the back of his shirt, “Now, enough talking!” </p><p>And with that, he lunged forwards, stabbing one of the knives into Virgil’s hip. Immediately, Virgil crumpled to the ground, blacking out.</p><p>Janus looked down at Virgil’s unconscious body, backing away as Patton got closer. “No, what do you want with us?”</p><p>“I’m just playing a game, don’t be so dramatic!” </p><p>“A game?! You just stabbed your best friend!” Six people are dead!” Janus yelled, and that was enough to make Virgil’s eyes slowly flicker open, laying on the floor in pain, listening to their conversation as he bled out.</p><p>“Best friend? Ha! I just needed someone to blindly trust the innocent ones and tell me about the secrets of the castle and the easiest way to get around it,” Patton cackled, grinning as Janus backed up straight into a wall.</p><p>“Shit,” Janus muttered, and that’s when Patton raised the knife. It got closer, and closer, and closer, until Janus grabbed Patton’s wrist, kicking his torso violently, sending him stumbling backwards. The keys to the door fell out of his pocket.</p><p>“Oh, wow, only other person to put up a fight was Roman! And I beat him. This won’t end up well for you,” Patton warned, twirling the knife around his hand.</p><p>“Oh really? Let me find that out for myself then,” Janus spat, glaring at Patton, fists raised as Patton got closer and closer and closer, and then Patton punched his throat. Janus’ hands flew up, clawing at his throat as he gasped for air.</p><p>That’s when Patton raised his knife.</p><p>Janus gulped, knowing it was too late. He clenched his fists, and prepared for the impact.</p><p>And suddenly Patton froze, mouth hanging wide open. Janus stared, baffled until he saw the blood slowly trickling from Patton’s mouth. His eyes drifted down to the hole sticking out of Patton’s stomach. He sunk to the floor, knife clattering away from him.</p><p>In front of him now, was a blood-soaked Virgil, eyes narrowed with determination, clothes rumpled and covered in dirt from the floor, matching the smeared bits on his face, knife dripping with blood. He didn’t even seem to realise that Patton had crumpled onto the floor, dead.</p><p>“How-”</p><p>“Pulled the knife out,” Virgil explained, gesturing to the blood that was soaking him. There was a smear of blood on the floor from where he collapsed, and a trail leading towards him.<br/>
“Holy shit, holy shit, fuck, fuck, fuck! I just stabbed my best friend! Fuck!” Virgil immediately started backing up against the opposite wall, the knife falling out of his hand, bouncing against the floor. He felt his breath cut short and he scratched at his throat in a desperate attempt.</p><p>“No, you saved my life,” Janus corrected him, grasping Virgil’s wrists and pulling them away. </p><p>“And I had to kill someone to do it!”</p><p>Janus glanced back at Patton, seeing the stab wound in his stomach. “Maybe you didn’t. A stab wound doesn’t always kill someone.”</p><p>That seemed to calm Virgil down.<br/>
“We just need to get out of here,” Janus snatched the keys up, “And get help.” His eyes flickered to the blood pouring from Virgil. He unhooked the cape from around his shoulders, scrunching it up and handing it to Virgil. “Keep this on the wound. Stay here, hold this,” he handed one of the knives to Virgil, “Just in case he wakes up,” he explained. “I’ll be quick, I swear.”</p><p>Virgil stood there, trembling violently, one hand clasping the knife, the other pressing the fabric against his wound. Janus returned five minutes later, explaining there was an ambulance outside for them both.</p><p>
  <b>The events in the castle were... unexpected at the very least. Out of our eight guests, only two survived. Yes, two. </b>
</p><p>Patton died on the way to the hospital, though neither Janus nor Virgil felt particularly upset about it.</p><p>Virgil left the hospital months later, left only with a scar and a limp.</p><p>Janus helped him with the recovery process, repaying him for saving his life.</p><p><b>The two were both left with trauma and survivors guilt.</b> <b></b></p><p>
  <b>They would visit each other occasionally, bonding over their shared tragic experience.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>For their remaining lifetimes, they strictly avoided Royal events. </b>
</p><p>
  <b>Janus stepped down from being the Heir months after they escaped. He felt as if he would be an inadequate King if he couldn’t save all of the victims of Patton, Remus and Emile. He allowed the throne to go to a distant cousin. </b>
</p><p>
  <b>Virgil moved out of King Thomas’ castle, unable to stop hallucinating their bodies everywhere. He stayed in the kingdom, just on the outskirts, right next to a large forest.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>While, yes, this story ends tragically, do not forget- No ! Patton? You're dead! What- How are you- </b>
</p><p> </p><p><b>‘</b> <b> <em>i aM aLWays WatCHiNg :D’</em> </b></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>and thats the end :))) sorry it sucked lmao i loved ur theories tho!!! some of u were scarily close lmao</p><p> </p><p>[for any confusion : patton broke through at the end]<br/>ALSO!!! if you have ANY questions about the story, (example : why they killed in that order. why emile and remus backed out. anything) please ask!!! ill try my best to answer</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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